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US Congress poised to open another flank against outsourcing
Washington, Feb 25: As the jobless economic recovery spawns increased political anxiety in an election year, new flanks are being opened in the offensive against outsourcing of jobs by american corporations to low-wage countries like India and China.
Washington, Feb 25: As the jobless economic recovery spawns increased political anxiety in an election year,
new flanks are being opened in the offensive against outsourcing of jobs by american corporations to low-wage
countries like India and China.
Along with fears over loss of jobs, fresh ones over loss of privacy of American citizens in moving jobs overseas are
being raised in Congress. Massachusetts democrat Edward Markey, a senior member of the house energy and homeland security committees, wrote to 16 federal, state and quasi governmental agencies yesterday
raising concerns about ``the growing practice by US companies of outsourcing personal data processing and analysis to offshore companies.``
``I am concerned that the privacy of American citizens is being exported in the service of global trade,`` said Markey, who is also co-chair of the congressional privacy caucus. ``America needs to wake up and resist the wholesale abandonment of enforceable privacy rights associated with exporting sensitive service activities overseas to the lowest bidder.``
Markey claimed the offshoring of high-tech, call center, data processing and analysis and other technology-dependent service jobs posed a ``very real danger to the security, confidentiality and integrity of personal financial, medical and other sensitive information.``
There was no assurance, he claimed, that privacy would be protected when personal data is transferred to offshore companies that are ``beyond the reach of US law enforcement, and the federal government needs to wake up to the risks that this presents.``
Markey has asked the federal reserve, the securities and exchange commission, the federal banking regulators, the federal trade commission, the federal communications commission, the international revenue service, the defense department and the CIA, among others, to report on which companies within their jurisdiction are engaging in the practice of offshoring, what privacy and security precaution govern such job transfers and what recourse regulators and consumers have if an offshore company violates their privacy. Bureau Report
``I am concerned that the privacy of American citizens is being exported in the service of global trade,`` said Markey, who is also co-chair of the congressional privacy caucus. ``America needs to wake up and resist the wholesale abandonment of enforceable privacy rights associated with exporting sensitive service activities overseas to the lowest bidder.``
Markey claimed the offshoring of high-tech, call center, data processing and analysis and other technology-dependent service jobs posed a ``very real danger to the security, confidentiality and integrity of personal financial, medical and other sensitive information.``
There was no assurance, he claimed, that privacy would be protected when personal data is transferred to offshore companies that are ``beyond the reach of US law enforcement, and the federal government needs to wake up to the risks that this presents.``
Markey has asked the federal reserve, the securities and exchange commission, the federal banking regulators, the federal trade commission, the federal communications commission, the international revenue service, the defense department and the CIA, among others, to report on which companies within their jurisdiction are engaging in the practice of offshoring, what privacy and security precaution govern such job transfers and what recourse regulators and consumers have if an offshore company violates their privacy. Bureau Report